Joining Forces for Gender Equality:Supporting equal parenting: Paid parental leave

This chapter presents the wide variety of employment-protected paid parental leave leaves in OECD countries, spanning from maternity and paternity leave to parental leave with earmarked entitlements for mothers and fathers. It continues by discussing the impact parental leaves can have on family and child well-being, employment, and the division of paid and unpaid work in households. The chapter concludes with recent policy developments, which have often focussed on increasing earmarked entitlements to encourage more active participation of fathers in caregiving.